The minister of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) Jhonatan de Jesus ordered the federal government to adopt measures to prevent Bolsa Família beneficiaries from using resources received from the social program with online betting (bets). The measure was determined this Sunday (15) following a request from the Public Ministry to the TCU.
According to the decision, the government must adopt immediate solutions to prevent beneficiaries of Bolsa Família and other social and assistance programs from participating in electronic betting.
According to the minister, the prohibition aims to prevent the misuse of resources. “The precautionary measure is restricted to preventing the misuse of public resources in activities that are incompatible with the constitutional objectives of assistance programs, without prejudice to the continuity of care for families in vulnerable situations that meet the legal eligibility criteria”, decided the minister .
Last week, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (AGU) informed the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that there are operational difficulties in complying with the decision by minister Luiz Fuxissued last month, to prevent beneficiaries from spending on betting.
The main problem is identifying resources from benefits and money from other sources of income that are in the beneficiaries’ accounts. Therefore, according to the AGU, it is not possible to prevent the account from being used for betting.
On November 14th, the plenary of the Supreme Court ratified the injunction issued by Luiz Fux. In the decision, the minister also determined that the rules set out in Ordinance No. 1,231/2024, of the Ministry of Finance, on the prohibition of communication, advertising and marketing actions aimed at children and adolescents are immediately applicable. The rule would be in force on January 1, 2025.
The process that motivated the debate was filed with the Court by the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). The entity questions Law 14,790/2023, a rule that regulated fixed-odd online betting. In the direct action of unconstitutionality (ADI), the CNC says that the legislation, by promoting the practice of gambling, causes negative impacts on less favored social classes, such as the growth of family debt.
